A Turkish woman looks at her smart phone in the Eminonu district of Istanbul. / OZAN KOSE, AFP/Getty Images

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

The White House criticized Turkey for blocking its citizens' access to Twitter, calling it an attack on freedom of expression.

"We oppose this restriction on the Turkish people's access to information, which undermines their ability to exercise freedoms of expression and association and runs contrary to the principles of open governance," said a statement from White House spokesman Jay Carney.

Other administration officials echoed the protests in a variety of Twitter posts.

Carney said the Obama administration informed Turkey's government of "our serious concern" and urged it to "respect the freedom of the press by permitting the independent and unfettered operation of media of all kinds and support the people of Turkey in their calls to restore full access to the blocked technologies."

"Turkey blocked access to Twitter on Friday after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to 'rip out the roots' of the social network where links have proliferated to recordings that purportedly implicate him and other top officials in corruption.

"Turkey has blocked access to YouTube, but this is the first ban on Twitter, which is hugely popular in the country and was instrumental in organizing flash protests against the government last year. Uproar over the recordings has damaged the government's reputation before elections this month."